Sermon Tone Analysis

“Beware of Greeks bearing gifts.”

That is the moral of the story of one of the most well-known tales of lie and deception of history.

In the Trojan Wars, around 1200 BC, Homer and Virgil both recount the story of the Trojan Horse.

In the story, the Greek army, led by Odysseus, had held the city of Troy in siege for 10 years but had not successfully breached it.

The Greeks then feigned a cease of war, and constructed a large wooden horse on wheels, leaving it as a gift to the city of Troy, and then the armies sailed away.

Well, you know how the story goes.

Within the horse were hiding some of the key Greek troops, and under the cover of night they snuck out of the horse and opened the city gates for the rest of the army that had turned around and sailed back in the darkness.

This is one of the greatest examples of a “Big Lie.”

The idea of a “Big Lie,” which probably became most well known due to the schemes of Nazi Germany, is when a lie so incredibly bold and large in scale that it would be hard to imagine its false is told, and told, and repeated, until the majority of people come to accept it.

Sometimes this happens on smaller scales.

Sometimes we even tell ourselves “big lies.”

Lies that we know are untrue, but we repeat them often enough and convincingly enough that even we come to believe them.

In the passage today, the Pharisees are after Jesus again, and this time they are caught up in an enormous lie, and one that has eternal significance.

Read Matthew 12:22-24

This is not the first time that we have seen this accusation in Matthew’s Gospel, is it?

Much like the Sabbath controversies that we began to see last week, it seems that the Pharisees refused to believe and allow that Jesus was working these miracles by the Power of God.

The implications of that were too much for them.

In chapter 9, Matthew acknowledges this attitude in the Pharisees.

In chapter 10, Jesus acknowledges it.

But here in this section, Jesus finally addresses the seriousness of it.

These verses are an interesting group of verses.

They start with a miracle, a display of the goodness and mercy of Jesus that we have seen expressed over the last two weeks - the character of God to bless and redeem and restore.

Then, because of the response of the Pharisees, Jesus begins to teach in a way that is almost like parables - in fact Mark calls these teachings parable in the parallel account in Mark 3.

Finally, the paragraph closes with one of the hardest sayings of Jesus that is recorded.

There are many of these sayings - sayings like, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.

Or, unless a man hates his father and mother he cannot be my disciple.

But perhaps this saying, right here in the middle of Matthew 12, is the hardest.

And, perhaps this saying, out of any other teaching or saying of Jesus, has sparked the most anxiety and worry and fear of any other saying.

Because here we have Jesus, merciful and kind, compassionate and forgiving, teaching about this one sin that simply will not be forgiven, either now or in eternity.

Being the first Sunday of the month, in which we observe the Lord’s Supper, the idea of sin and forgiveness is on our minds.

Remembering the sacrifice, the atonement, the washing of our sins, we should pause and think about forgiveness.

We will take this passage in order, and address that elephant in the room of “what is the unforgivable sin,” but let me say at the forefront, that if you are in the least concerned before God that you have commited it, then you almost assuredly have not.

The big idea of the passage really comes from verse 30, where Jesus calls the whole thing to question.

Are you with me, or are you against me?

In knowing and following the true Christ, there is true forgiveness.

But apart from the true Christ, there is no forgiveness.

The Miracle - Vs. 22-24

In several cases in Matthew, specifically in chapters 8-9, we have seen accounts of miracles - and even some similar to this one - and we have seen how Matthew, as he is writing this record, uses the miracles as teaching points.

And that is not him “robbing” or co-opting the miracles for making a point, but like this story shows us, that really is exactly what Jesus is doing by the miracles.

Jesus, in his miracle working, is showing purpose.

He is showing what they are for.

The miracles were signs, but not signs unto themselves.

They were signs to show a greater occuring, a greater vision, a greater appeal.

In this case, the problems were threefold - the man was demon-oppressed, and seemingly because of that, he was both blind and mute.

The imagery is strong here, and we shouldn’t miss it.

Because of evil Spirits, the power of the evil one, this man was out of his own control, and he was unable to see or speak.

That is, essentially left helpless.

No control, no vision, no communication.

An emptiness of life that is shocking.

We read the similar account in Matthew 9, where the demon-oppressed man was mute - he couldn’t speak.

And there, when Jesus delivered him, the people marvelled and said “never has anything like this been seen in all of Israel.”

Well here, as if the stakes were raised one step, the man was mute and also blind.

This illustrates for us the bruised reed and smoldering wick that the Messiah would not crush or put out.

An outcast of society, a relatively empty person with no real ability to better himself, others, or surroundings.

There is also imagery here, though, that is fitting for the idea of forgiveness and deliverance - for blindness, and being under the power of the evil-one, certainly describes the world spiritually.

Like, perhaps, the most famous hymn - Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me, I once was lost, but now I’m found - was blind but now I see.

This is the power, and the greatness, and the mercy and lovingkindness of Jesus - to open the eyes of the blind, to set the prisoners free.

This man was blind, mute, and a prisoner to Satan, but Jesus healed him.

Have you experienced this deliverance, the deliverance of Jesus?

What comes next is the most profound response by the people that we have come across yet in Matthew.

Evidently there were a large amount of people around - matthew’s words for “all the people” is actually “all the crowds” - the idea of “crowds of crowds”

In other cases it has been, “the people were amazed.”

But in this case, crowds of crowds saw what took place - and they were amazed.

Amazed is a strong word.

We use it so frequently and flippantly.

We eat a particularly delicious treat and we say “that was amazing!”

But was it really?

I mean, it was probably very tasty, but amazing?

Amazing, in this case, means to be astonished to the point of being practically overwhelmed.

Speechless - awe - dumbfounded.

The response went further, though - because while many were speechless, some were able to compose their thoughts and speak - and what they spoke is a pinnacle point in Matthew.

Now notice this, I said the idea of “seeing and speaking” was important.

Because here, the demon-possessed man could not see or speak, but Jesus healed him so he could.

Now, the crowds saw that, and from what they saw, they spoke.

“Can this be the Son of David?”

What a question.

Do you remember Matthew 1:1

All along, Matthew has been telling us that Jesus is the Messiah, he is the promised one, the Son of God, the Son of David - and he teased it once when the two blind men were healed, and they called Jesus the Son of David - but now, crowds of Crowds are considering this question - can this be him?

Is this the Son of David?

Is this the Messiah?

Of course, it is!

And I want you to think - because we have been on the same journey, seeing and hearing what Jesus has done - and what do you say about Him? Perhaps you’ve claimed him for years as your Savior and King, but for those who haven’t, are you asking the same question?

Could this all be true?

Is Jesus really who he says he is?

Well, seeing and saying is important - because the demon-oppressed man saw and spoke - the crowds saw and spoke.

But now, the Pharisees, seeing the same thing, speak something very different.

Again, this is not the first time this has been uttered.

Faced with the overwhelming amount of people who are evidently being convinced that Jesus is the Messiah, the Pharisees are feeling trapped, it seems, and they must do something about it.

We talked about the big lie - a lie so large that its hard to believe it could be a fabrication - well here the Pharisees string up their big lie - despite the evidence, despite the signs, despite the obvious implications, Jesus is not who he says he is.

He is working by the power of Satan.

Beelzebub is a name borrowed from a Canaanite god, it means “lord of filth” or “lord of flies” and it is used here to describe the devil, the prince of demons.

And this statement, this position, this lie, is what comes into question for the rest of the passage today.

What we see and say are very important.

Like Jesus words about Tyre, Sidon, and Sodom, had they received these opportunities, they would have repented.

But the Pharisees saw this, yet wielded these lies.

The Parables - Vs. 25-29

Beginning in Chapter 13, we will start to see a number of Jesus’ parables, and I’m looking forward to that.

But Jesus has teased at “parabolic” teaching a few times, and this is one of them.

Mark calls these two teachings parables.

A parable is simply to take a spiritual truth and cast it alongside a life experience to illustrate it, or in some cases to conceal it.